A Martinez man died Friday after losing control of his motorcycle and hitting a tractor trailer.

Dalton Lee Brown, 20, of North Belair Road, was driving his motorcycle west on Columbia Road near Belair Road when he lost control, according to Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy David Herrity. The motorcycle crossed a turn lane and an oncoming lane of traffic before hitting the rear tires of an eastbound Maner Building Supply Co. tractor trailer.

After the first day of the Region 2-AAAAA baseball tournament Thursday night, just one of four series has been resolved.No. 1 seed Houston County High School swept No. Grovetown, 14-1, 4-1, while Evans, Greenbrier and Lakeside split with their respective opponents and will play "if" games on Friday, April 18.Lakeside, Evans and Greenbrier each won the first game of their series before dropping the second. At home, No. 2 Lakeside beat No. 3 Warner Robins 7-5 then lost 6-5. On the road, No. 3 Evans beat No. 2 Jones County 5-4 before being blanked 6-0.

The 17-year-old suspected in the shotgun killing of her father, waived her right to formal extradition proceedings Monday and will be returned to face charges in North Carolina.

In a brief hearing before Judge Stephen Shepard, Assistant Public Defender Muneer Awad said he had consulted with Crystal Brooke Howell and she had agreed to waive extradition. Howell, shackled and dressed in an orange- and white-striped jumpsuit, acknowledged she had agreed to return to her home state, signed a waiver and was led out of the courtroom.

The new urgent and primary care facility is located at 3110 William Few Parkway in the Riverwood Town Center, according to information released by the hospital. The center offers medical care for adults and children to include same-day and after-hours appointments.

Columbia County authorities are looking for a woman they say stole a wallet from a convenience store counter.

A 54-year-old Hephzibah woman said she went to the Enmark station at 221 Bobby Jones Expressway at about midnight on March 7. She forgot her wallet on the counter when she went to her car, according to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office incident report. The woman said she realized she forgotten her wallet before leaving the parking lot, but it was gone when she went inside to retrieve it.

The semi-annual blood drive to support Shepeard Community Blood Center will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Evans Government Complex auditorium and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bloodmobile at the Roads and Bridges building on Columbia Road in Appling.

The blood center provides blood products to 21 area hospitals.

To donate, one must be at least 110 pounds, in good general health and be at least 17 years old. Those who are 16 years old may also donate with written parental consent.

A Evans man was arrested Wednesday afternoon after leading Columbia County authorities on a chase.

Kenneth Allen Ringgold, 31, of Walnut Hill Drive, was charged woth forgery, fleeing and attempting to elude, hit and run, reckless driving, driving on the wrong side of the road and driving on a suspended license, according to Columbia County sheriff's lt. Andy Shedd.

More than two years after Lacy Aaron Schmidt was convicted of murdering his 14-year-old friend, a Superior Court judge refused his request for a new trial.

Schmidt, 17, was 15 when he was charged with shooting 14-year-old Alana May Calahan in her home near Harlem on Jan. 31, 2011.

A year later, a jury convicted him of murder, theft and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Superior Court Judge Michael N. Annis sentenced Schmidt to life in prison without the possibility of parole.